Having seen Dhoni and Smith lead the sides, Fleming, who was also CSK coach, said both are best captains in their own style.
Not many had liked the idea of Rising Pune Supergiant management sacking former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni from captaincy before the new Indian Premier League season. However, Dhoni took the move gracefully and looked forward to playing the season under the new captain Steve Smith. While Dhoni had a mixed season with the bat but his performances in a couple of games changed the game for his team.
RPS coach Stephen Fleming said that Dhoni is motivated to win another IPL title. “He’s one of the more successful players in the last decade to play. It’s another opportunity to win another IPL final. I know he’s up for it and is motivated. He’s been criticised for nothing but you have to appreciate how he has done it time and time again. He has been a good player for us, he has been good from a leadership point of view and we hope that he has a good final tomorrow,” Fleming told the media on the eve of the final on Saturday.
Having seen Dhoni and Smith lead the sides, Fleming, who was also Chennai Super Kings coach, said both are best captains in their own style.
“They’re both fine leaders with their performance. Arguably both are the best in their position. Certainly MS for a period of time and Steve is right up there if not the best batsman in the world at the moment. So performance is key. Great example (MS) helps.”
The former New Zealand skipper said it weren’t just the youngsters but experienced too enjoyed sitting with the two players.
“It’s just good communication between the two of them. They have been outstanding. Much has been made of their relationship but certainly sitting with them it’s nothing but influential to the younger players and beneficial for the senior players and for me.
It has been a great dynamic to be a part of. This is the first time I am working with Steve and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.” The Australian skipper said he has enjoyed the IPL journey so far and is hopeful of a good show on Sunday.
“I’ve had a lot of fun through this tournament. It has been a great little ride. We have played some great cricket to make it this far. Obviously it has been a lot of fun to work with Flem (Fleming) and MS to try and get the best out of this group that we have. We have shown a lot of consistency which is very important to the business end. Great to have played the way we have. Hope we can put on one more good show.”
Smith is also impressed with the way Pune’s youngsters like Rahul Tripathi and Washington Sundar have performed and played a key role in Pune’s road to the finals.
“Yeah, those guys are quite young and haven’t played these kind of high-pressure final games. That can play into your favour sometimes because you can just come out and play with freedom. I thought Washington was absolutely fantastic against Mumbai the other night, for a 17-year-old to come out on the big stage against some quality players and to do what he did was outstanding.
Those guys, the young guys, have been a real big part of our success throughout this tournament. Hopefully they can have a bit of success tomorrow night (Sunday) too,” he added.
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 "Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Steve Smith")
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